1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projectile forming the head of a carrier, such as a bomb, missile etc., a carrier of this type being possibly provided with a propulsion device and a system of fins or a guidance system so that it has a defined ballistic trajectory.
More precisely, the present invention relates to a projectile containing sub-munitions which are released, in a controlled direction, at a given moment on the trajectory of the carrier.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modern weapons systems very often use the concept of a projectile that itself carries sub-munitions (or sub-charges) which have to be distributed over large areas or volumes. In the systems of the prior art, no special precautions are usually taken to arrange the sub-munitions inside the projectile. This results in the random distribution and direction of the sub-munitions when released or, at least, in a substantial loss of precision in their speed and direction. As a result only a portion, sometimes a small portion, of the sub-munitions reaches the objective while the remainder are lost.
An object of the present invention is to enable the release of sub-munitions in a preferred direction, with adequate control over the direction in which they are pointed, so that their subsequent ballistic behavior is not disturbed.
3. Summary of the Invention
More precisely, an object of the invention is a projectile containing sub-munitions, each having a fixed fin system, for example with three fins. The sub-munitions are arranged so that they are pointed in a single direction (with the head forward and fin system towards the rear of the main projectile) in one or more rows. In each row, the shells of the sub-munitions are tangential with one another, and the fin systems being placed in one another in a self-locking way. The projectile further has securing elements between the shell of the main projectile and the structure formed by the sub-munitions. In an alternative embodiment, the projectile comprises additional securing means arranged between the various sub-munitions of one and the same row. Finally, the spaces that remain unoccupied between the sub-munitions and the securing elements are filled with a powdery substance designed to increase the rigidity of the assembly and, when the projectile has several rows of sub-munitions, to ensure and maintain a gap between the rows.